An Exploration of What Nurses Value in Their Nursing Practice

Objective: To explore what nurses value in their practice that helps to inform nurse satisfaction. Background: Nurse turnover is a growing concern, with nurses leaving the profession in unprecedented numbers. What nurses value in their practice has evolved over the past decade; understanding these shifts is important to strategize the future of nursing practice. Methods: Qualitative, descriptive study using focus groups to explore inpatient acute care nursing values. Results: Participants (n=52) identified 4 interrelated themes: relationship building with patients, colleagues and leaders; the importance of compassion, patient advocacy, and a team approach to care; barriers to care, including resource constraints, communication issues, and role strain; and perspectives on the future of nursing. Nurses remain optimistic about their ability to adapt to innovative advances, role expansion, and maintaining the human-to-human connection that is foundational to nursing practice. Conclusions: The findings offer important insights into what nurses value and are challenged by, which may guide future nursing research, strategies for leaders, organizational improvement and nurse retention.